France is going through the worst drought ever, warns French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne.
"Faced with this historic situation, the prime minister has decided to activate a multi-ministerial crisis group and urges everyone to conserve water," states Borne's office.
Drinking water out
In over 100 municipalities in south-eastern France, the drought is so extensive that there is no longer water in the taps.
Other municipalities have been urged to save on tap and drinking water.
The French state is also working to coordinate so that drinking water can be transported to the affected areas by trucks.
The drought means a "disaster" for the country's farmers as well as for ecosystems and biological diversity, writes the Prime Minister's office in a statement.
The high temperatures have increased evaporation from lakes and waterways whose levels have dropped just as the need for irrigation is great before the autumn harvest times.
Affects energy production
The energy company EDF has also been forced to reduce activity at several nuclear power plants.
Due to the low water levels of adjacent rivers and the rising temperature of their water, there have been problems cooling the reactors.
In addition, in such a situation, releasing back normal amounts of the water that was used to cool the reactors would mean further increases in temperature that are deemed to be harmful to animal and plant life.
Criticism
The government has reacted by deploying a crisis team and urges everyone to conserve water.
However, golf courses are exempt and continue to be watered, which has led to growing criticism regarding the government's handling of the country's most severe water crisis to date.
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Watch how the dehydrated squirrel is fed at the animal shelter in France in the clip.